As an avid tea drinker (3 or 4 cups a day!), I was greatly disturbed when I was recently told that tea bags are often glued with PVC or other thermoplastics.  These can leach out when heated.  Add to that, many tea bags are bleached, as well, which can lead to dioxin leaching.

I'm an addict, so rather than give up the tea, I researched. It turns out, the toxic teabag tidbit was in fact true—at one time. Consumers were outraged when they learned about what was really holding tea bags together and about the bleaching processes of the tea paper.  Following the uproar, many companies spent their resources on rectifying the problem by finding new, innovative ways to keep the taste of a teabag neutral without bleaching.

Nonetheless, it’s safe to say that not all companies are being responsible. It is important to pay attention: tea companies felt the pressure to change because consumers made noise. With a wide range of resources now available to us, such a consumer reports, blogs, and online reviews, it is easier than ever to access more information on everyday products. Unless we consumers read product labels, and speak up when something does not add up with a product, there will never be anyone to make the changes that should be made.

We always have choices; there are plenty of alternatives to teabags on the market: tea balls, strainers, infusers ... find out what suits you best, and use the product that fits with your lifestyle.

Tags: dioxin leaching, PVC, tea

This entry was posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.